Anyone who works as a freelancer these days has to be at least a bit familiar with techie things. But it isn’t just that. When I was a kid and those vaguely SF puppet shows were on the television and all the other kids wanted to be Greg Gogetem or Steve Savetheuniverse, I wanted to be the guy in a white coat and glasses called Doc or Brains. Here are some technology-related feeds I find useful and/or entertaining.
Slashdot » Stability AI Reportedly Ran Out of Cash To Pay Its Bills For Rented Cloud GPUs
An anonymous reader writes: The massive GPU clusters needed to train Stability AI's popular text-to-image generation model Stable Diffusion are apparently also at least partially responsible for former CEO Emad Mostaque's downfall — because he couldn't find a way to pay for them. According to an extensive expose citing company documents and dozens of persons familiar with the matter, it's … [Link]
Slashdot » Apple Reportedly Exploring Personal Home Robots
As reported by Bloomberg (paywalled), Apple is exploring the development of personal home robots following the shut down of its electric vehicle project. CNBC reports: Engineers at Apple have been looking into a robot that can follow users around their homes and a tabletop device that uses robotics to adjust a display screen, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the … [Link]
Slashdot » Google Brings Keyboard Shortcuts, Custom Mouse Buttons To ChromeOS
A new ChromeOS update (M123) is rolling out that brings keyboard shortcuts and mouse buttons and enables hotspot connections on cellular Chromebooks. The Verge reports: The keyboard shortcut feature will work like it does in other operating systems, in which you can assign specific actions to specific key combinations. Google uses the examples of tweaking shortcuts to be easier to … [Link]
Slashdot » George Carlin Estate Forces 'AI Carlin' Off the Internet For Good
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The George Carlin estate has settled its lawsuit with Dudesy, the podcast that purportedly used a "comedy AI" to produce an hour-long stand-up special in the style and voice of the late comedian. Dudesy's "George Carlin: Dead and Loving It" special, which was first uploaded in early January, gained hundreds of … [Link]
Slashdot » Anthropic Researchers Wear Down AI Ethics With Repeated Questions
How do you get an AI to answer a question it's not supposed to? There are many such "jailbreak" techniques, and Anthropic researchers just found a new one, in which a large language model (LLM) can be convinced to tell you how to build a bomb if you prime it with a few dozen less-harmful questions first. From a report: … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Great apes threatened by mining for electric vehicle batteries
A surge of mining in some African countries for materials used to make green energy technologies puts gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos at risk [Link]
Slashdot » Cable Lobby Vows 'Years of Litigation' To Avoid Bans on Blocking and Throttling
An anonymous reader shares a report: The Federal Communications Commission has scheduled an April 25 vote to restore net neutrality rules similar to the ones introduced during the Obama era and repealed under former President Trump. The text of the pending net neutrality order wasn't released today. The FCC press release said it will prohibit broadband providers "from blocking, slowing … [Link]
Slashdot » US, EU To Use AI To Seek Alternate Chemicals for Making Chips
The European Union and the US plan to enlist AI in the search for replacements to so-called forever chemicals that are prevalent in semiconductor manufacturing, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing a draft statement. From the report: The pledge forms part of the conclusions to this week's joint US-EU Trade and Technology Council taking place in Leuven, Belgium. "We plan to … [Link]
Slashdot » New 'Matrix' Movie in Works
Deadline: Drew Goddard, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of The Martian who also directed The Cabin in the Woods, has been set to write and direct a new Matrix movie at Warner Bros. The franchise's original co-scribe and co-director Lana Wachowski is executive producing. It's still early days in regards to whether core cast members Keanu Reeves, Carrie Anne-Moss, Laurence Fishburne, Hugo … [Link]
Slashdot » Microsoft Reveals Subscription Pricing for Using Windows 10 Beyond 2025
Microsoft announced an extended support program for Windows 10 last year that would allow users to pay for continued security updates beyond the October 2025 end of support date. Today, the company has unveiled the pricing structure for that program, which starts at $61 per device, and doubles every year for three years. Windows Central: Security updates on Windows are … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Life’s vital chemistry may have begun in hot, cracked rock
Amino acids and other molecules important to the origin of life can be enriched within networks of rocky fractures, which would have been common on the early Earth [Link]
Slashdot » Business Schools Are Going All In on AI
Top business schools are integrating AI into their curricula to prepare students for the changing job market. Schools like the Wharton School, American University's Kogod School of Business, Columbia Business School, and Duke University's Fuqua School of Business are emphasizing AI skills across various courses, WSJ reported Wednesday. Professors are encouraging students to use AI as a tool for generating … [Link]
Slashdot » JPMorgan Chase is About To Let Advertisers Target Customers Based on Their Spending
smooth wombat writes: Chase bank announced a new program that will allow brands to target Chase customers based on the customer's purchases. According to the press release, the new program is called Chase Media Solutions and "serves as a key conduit for brands, connecting them with consumers' personal passions and interests. In turn, Chase customers benefit from personalized offers and … [Link]
Slashdot » Users Say Google's VPN App Breaks the Windows DNS Settings
An anonymous reader shares a report: Google offers a VPN via its "Google One" monthly subscription plan, and while it debuted on phones, a desktop app has been available for Windows and Mac OS for over a year now. Since a lot of people pay for Google One for the cloud storage increase for their Google accounts, you might be … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Microsoft and Quantinuum’s quantum computer may be most reliable yet
A quantum computer built by Quantinuum uses “logical quantum bits” designed by Microsoft to run simple computational routines with an unprecedented level of reliability [Link]
Slashdot » Microsoft and Quantinuum Say They've Ushered in the Next Era of Quantum Computing
Microsoft and Quantinuum today announced a major breakthrough in quantum error correction. Using Quantinuum's ion-trap hardware and Microsoft's new qubit-virtualization system, the team was able to run more than 14,000 experiments without a single error. From a report: This new system also allowed the team to check the logical qubits and correct any errors it encountered without destroying the logical … [Link]
Slashdot » Tennessee Passes 'Chemtrail' Bill Banning Airborne Chemicals
vik writes: According to this BBC article Tennessee just passed a bill banning the dispersion of chemicals in the air that affect weather and temperature. Sponsored by the chemtrail and anti-geoengineering crowds, if signed into law it seems it would ban atmospheric CO2 emissions:The bill forbids "intentional injection, release, or dispersion" of chemicals into the air. It doesn't explicitly mention … [Link]
Slashdot » Scathing Federal Report Rips Microsoft For Shoddy Security
quonset shares a report: In a scathing indictment of Microsoft corporate security and transparency, a Biden administration-appointed review board issued a report Tuesday saying "a cascade of errors" by the tech giant let state-backed Chinese cyber operators break into email accounts of senior U.S. officials including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. The Cyber Safety Review Board, created in 2021 by executive … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Laser-powered licence plates could help avoid satellite collisions
It can be difficult to identify satellites that have lost power, increasing the risk of a dangerous collision in space, but licence plates could be a solution [Link]
Slashdot » Missouri County Declares State of Emergency Amid Suspected Ransomware Attack
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Jackson County, Missouri, has declared a state of emergency and closed key offices indefinitely as it responds to what officials believe is a ransomware attack that has made some of its IT systems inoperable. "Jackson County has identified significant disruptions within its IT systems, potentially attributable to a ransomware attack," officials … [Link]
Slashdot » UK and US Sign Landmark Agreement On AI Safety
The UK and US have signed a landmark deal to work together on testing advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and develop "robust" safety methods for AI tools and their underlying systems. "It is the first bilateral agreement of its kind," reports the BBC. From the report: UK tech minister Michelle Donelan said it is "the defining technology challenge of our generation." … [Link]
Slashdot » Taiwan Quake Puts World's Most Advanced Chips at Risk
Taiwan's biggest earthquake in 25 years has disrupted production at the island's semiconductor companies, raising the possibility of fallout for the technology industry and perhaps the global economy. From a report: The potential repercussions are significant because of the critical role Taiwan plays in the manufacture of advanced chips, the foundation of technologies from artificial intelligence and smartphones to electric … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Snakes show signs of self-recognition in a smell-based 'mirror test'
Garter snakes may recognise their own scent and react differently when it is altered, hinting at self-awareness in reptiles [Link]
Slashdot » NASA To Create Time Standard For the Moon
artmancc writes: The White House has directed NASA and other federal agencies to get to work on a plan to implement precision timekeeping and dissemination on the moon and elsewhere in space. Reuters cited a memo from the head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) that "instructed the space agency to work with other parts … [Link]
Slashdot » 'Russia Might Have Caused Havana Syndrome'
An anonymous reader quotes an opinion piece from the Washington Post, published by the Editorial Board: A just-published investigation by Russian, American and German journalists has unearthed startling new information about the so-called Havana syndrome, or "Anomalous Health Incidents," as the government calls the unexplained bouts of painful disorientation that U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers have suffered in recent years. … [Link]
Slashdot » Intel Discloses $7 Billion Operating Loss For Chip-Making Unit
Intel on Tuesday disclosed $7 billion in operating losses for its foundry business in 2023, "a steeper loss than the $5.2 billion in operating losses the year before," reports Reuters. "The unit had revenue of $18.9 billion for 2023, down 31% from $63.05 billion the year before." From the report: Intel shares were down 4.3% after the documents were filed … [Link]
Slashdot » Jon Stewart Claims Apple Wouldn't Let Him Interview FTC Chair On His Podcast
Sara Fischer reports via Axios: Jon Stewart on Monday told Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan that Apple wouldn't let him interview her for a podcast. "I wanted to have you on a podcast and Apple asked us not to do it," "The Daily Show" host said to Khan, in reference to his former podcast that was an extension … [Link]
Slashdot » Bitcoin Tumbles $5,000 In 24 Hours As Interest Rates Jump
Bitcoin fell more than 4.76% on Tuesday to $66,134 amid rising Treasury yields and strength in the U.S. dollar. CNBC reports: On Monday morning, it was trading at about $70,000 before data came out showing growth in the manufacturing sector for the first time since September 2022 and investor bets on June rate cuts began to cool. Bitcoin is now … [Link]
Slashdot » President Biden Is Now Posting Into the Fediverse
President Joe Biden has become the first sitting U.S. president to post on a decentralized networking protocol. As reported by The Verge, President Biden's Threads account "has begun using Meta's ActivityPub integration," which allows for content, data, and followers to be ported between networks — the basis that makes up the "fediverse." From the report: The account turning on fediverse … [Link]
Archive
30 Apr 2024 29 Apr 2024 28 Apr 2024 27 Apr 2024 26 Apr 2024 25 Apr 2024 24 Apr 2024 23 Apr 2024 22 Apr 2024 21 Apr 2024 20 Apr 2024 19 Apr 2024 18 Apr 2024 17 Apr 2024 16 Apr 2024 15 Apr 2024 14 Apr 2024 13 Apr 2024 12 Apr 2024 11 Apr 2024 10 Apr 2024 09 Apr 2024 08 Apr 2024 07 Apr 2024 06 Apr 2024 05 Apr 2024 04 Apr 2024 03 Apr 2024 02 Apr 2024 01 Apr 2024 31 Mar 2024 30 Mar 2024
0 responses so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
You must log in to post a comment.